The previous season, the Seahawks rolled through the CAA schedule, reached the league tournament championship game and earned an NIT bid with a 20-11 record. Expectations were high in the fall of 1998, as UNCW was tabbed the preseason favorite to win the league.

Instead, the team limped to an 11-17 finish. In 1999, they were picked eighth in CAA preseason voting.

The Seahawks needed something to rebuild their confidence. Washington did just that.

In 1998, the Huskies handed UNCW a seven-point road loss in the second game of the season. But in 1999, the Pac 10 program had to make the return trip to Wilmington.

“We had long memories. We remembered what they did to us and we wanted to change that feeling,” Ebong said recalling the 68-59 win. “That was the signal to our fans that we were coming to play. It was a big game for us. It catapulted a lot of confidence we had later in the year.”

For UNCW, these opportunities have been rare. When Stanford arrives in Wilmington for Friday’s game, it will be just the tenth time a team from one of the six biggest conferences – ACC, SEC, Pac 12, Big Ten, Big 12 or Big East – has made an appearance at Trask Coliseum. UNCW is 5-4 in those contests.

In 1987, Greg Bender remembers UNCW searching for something similar to the 1999 team. Brian Rowsom had just graduated the previous season and the Seahawks were scheduled to host Boston College in late December.

“Big East basketball, it was kind of the premiere league back then,” Bender said. “And even though BC wasn’t Georgetown or those types of teams at that point in time, they were still part of that league and we definitely viewed it as a big win.”

After the 98-82 UNCW victory, the Eagles made the semifinals of the NIT while the Seahawks put together a third-straight winning season, at that time the second longest streak since becoming Division I.

The 1996 schedule was a rarity, not only for UNCW but any mid-major. The Seahawks were owed return trips from Massachusetts and Mississippi State, both of which were coming off runs to the 1996 Final Four.

The contests had been scheduled in back-to-back days, starting with Mississippi State on Dec. 21. It was part of a four-game home stand in an eight-day period. Those four games were the season's only nonconference home matchups.

“Every game was in preparation to prepare you for the stress and the demands of winning three games in three days. So we always kind of had that playoff mentality in every one of our games,” Scott Wainwright said. “I’m sure in the back of (coach Jerry Wainwright’s) mind he wanted to make sure we were playing our best basketball in January and February, especially going into March. But everything was kind of built on, ‘Hey, you win those three games in Richmond and you’re going to go play Mississippi State. That’s the atmosphere you’re going to be in.’”

UNCW beat the Bulldogs, 71-54, but lost to UMass, 47-46.

No matter the situation, everyone in teal knows the hype surrounding a visit from a high major school is impossible to ignore.

When Colorado came to Trask in Nov. 2006, the Seahawks were eager for redemption from a loss the previous season in Boulder. They also wanted to make a statement on the national stage, doing so with a 67-55 win.

Daniel Fountain’s advice to the current players – focus on doing the little things because they make a big difference. The rest will fall into place.

“It’s a big challenge and I think that any time you can have a powerhouse team come to your coliseum, obviously the students are going to be behind you, the community’s going to be behind you. You have to try not to get so caught up with everything,” Fountain said.

Reporter Alex Riley can be reached at Alex.Riley@StarNewsOnline.com.

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